Friday, December 6, 2013

Window on Eurasia: Sochi Countdown – 9 Weeks to the Olympiad in the North Caucasus

Note:This is my 41stspecial
Window on Eurasia about the meaning and impact of the planned Olympiad on the
nations in the surrounding region.These
WOEs, which will appear each Friday over the coming year, will not aim at being
comprehensive but rather will consist of a series bullet points about such
developments.I would like to invite
anyone with special knowledge or information about this subject to send me
references to the materials involved.My
email address is paul.goble@gmail.comAllow me to express my thanks to all those
who already have. Paul Goble

Who’re You Going to Believe – Putin or Your Own Eyes? Sochi
Residents Ask.Russian President Vladimir Putin has said and his subordinates have
repeated that “practically everything has been done” to prepare facilities for
the Sochi Olympics, but residents of that city say that two months before the
games, construction is from finished and that what has been done is in many
cases inadequate and insecure. Moreover, they are posting pictures that call
into question Moscow’s claims that Sochi is now “barrier free” to the
handicapped as the city was required to be to get the Olympics and Paralympics.
To make their case, they are posting numerous photographs online contrasting
the claims of officials with the reality on the ground.Among the most comprehensive collections of
these are at blogsochi.ru/content/prakticheskivsesdelano, privetsochi.ru/blog/news_sochi/38719.html#cut, privetsochi.ru/blog/sitiproblem/38697.html#cut

‘Nobody Can Rule
Out a Terrorist Threat,’ Sochi Official Says. Sergey Domorat, an official of the Sochi city
government, told Ekaterina Sokirianskaia of the Internaitonal Crisis Group that
“nobody can rule out the terrorist threat” in that Olympic city. Russian
officials have boosted security, but they have done so in such a repressive
manner, Sokirianskaia says, that “it will be difficult if not impossible to
rebuild trust and continue the rehabilitation of insurgents – even assuming
there is the political will to do so” (nytimes.com/2013/12/06/opinion/winter-games-caucasian-misery.html?_r=0).

Security Worries
Seen Depressing Number of Foreign Visitors.Mikhail Delyagin, a Moscow commentator, says that the number of foreign tourists
who will come to the Olympic probably won’t exceed 20,000, a fifth of the
original estimate and a third of the number of foreign volunteers and athletes.
Like many others, he suggests that many of the security measures that Moscow
has taken appear more directed at the political opposition than at those who
might engage in terrorist actions (rbth.ru/society/2013/12/02/security_officials_leave_no_stone_unturned_for_sochi_games_32205.html).

Krasnodar Demands
Opposition Weekly Pledge Not to Disrupt Sochi. Security
officials in Krasnodar kray are demanding that opposition figures, people who
they describe as unfavorably inclined, sign a pledge every week not to do
anything that might disrupt the Sochi Olympiad.The demand initially focused on North Caucasians but now has spread to
Russian opposition groups as well. A local lawyer says that the police “don’t
even try to hide” that they are doing this because of the Games (kavpolit.com/kubanskix-aktivistov-zapisali-v-neblagonadezhnye/).

Russia
Simplifies Visa Procedures for Sochi, Creating Potential Security Problem. By simplifying
the procedure for acquiring a visa to attend the Sochi Olympics, Moscow may win
friends from those who have faced difficutlties in obtaining a Russian visa in
the past, but it has violence can enter the country (en.rsport.ru/olympics/20131205/705970166.html).

Putin Says Russia Interested in Hosting Special Olympics. Russian President Vladimir Putin says that his country
“have everything necessary” to host the Special Olympics and “will discuss it
with [his] colleagues who are dealing with it at the international level” (en.rsport.ru/other_sports/20131205/705967111.html).

FSB Breaks with
Putin on Demonstrations in Sochi. The Russian security service is proposing to
allow certain protests to take place in Sochi during the Olympics if organizers
secure permission from the authorities. That proposal simultaneously reverses
the FSB’s own earlier position and puts it at odds with Russian President
Vladimir Putin who has ordered that there not be any demonstrations there
before, during or immediately after the games.One reason the FSB may have changed its position is that its officers
may hope to get information on groups that had planned to have demonstrations
despite Putin’s ban (blogsochi.ru/content/fsb-protiv-v-putinaand regulation.gov.ru/project/10367.html?point=view_project&stage=2&stage_id=6313).

Sochi Public
Bath Turns Out to be a Bordello.Sochi residents are complaining about the fact that a facility
registered as a public bath is a bordello. They have provided photographs to
support their contention and say that the neighborhood has become unsafe as a
result (blogsochi.ru/content/%22publichnaya%22-banya-pod-prikrytiem).

Even Sochi Poets
Against Olympiad.One Sochi poet says that “freedom of speech”
is honored only in the breach in Sochi but that local poets are still
assembling at a local café and composing poems against the Olympics.He offers the following quatrain: “I remember
that terrible instant/That caused us to laugh/When one joker said/ ‘Here we
will conduct an Olympiad!’” (blogsochi.ru/content/svoboda-slova-ee-otsutstvie-v-sochi).

Shouldn’t Sochi
Be Declared a Disaster Area? Residents Ask.With all the problems their city has encountered in the run up to the
games, one resident has proposed declaring the city a disaster area in order to
put things right. Most of the more than 300 people who reacted to this online
proposal agreed (privetsochi.ru/blog/bred_sochi/38699.html).

‘It’s Not Our
Fault that There Will be an Olympiad’ Sochi Residents Say.Because of disruptions at the time of the
Olympiad, residents in Sochi will have to pay for some schooling that had been
supplied by the government. Who is to blame for that? They are asking, given
that “it’s not our fault that there will be an Olympiad” (privetsochi.ru/blog/school_sochi/38688.html).

To Pay for Sochi
Games Would Take 642 Tons of 100 US Dollar Bills.Various people are seeking to give people an
image of just how much the Sochi Games are costing.One person calculates that it would have
taken 642 tons of 100 US dollar bills to pay for them. That would fill 11
railway cars. Another way to think about the expenditure is to realize that one
could cover an eight meter wide path between Moscow and St. Petersburg with
such notes. The games are costing each resident of Russia 372 US dollars, far
more than a month’s salary for most (privetsochi.ru/blog/Flood/38668.html#cut).

LGBT Group Says
NBC Seeking to Minimize Moscow’s Anti-Gay Agenda. Members of Queer Nation organized a protest
when former Olympic skater Johnny Weir, who will be an NBC correspondent at
Sochi, spoke at New York’s Barnard College.Duncan Osborne, one of the group’s leaders said that “NBC has had the
openly gay Johnny Weir, a former figure skater, and Thomas Roberts, the openly
gay MSNBC anchor, make public comments that suggest that Russia’s anti-gay laws
are not harming LGBT Russians. But those laws have led to the arrest and
imprisonment of LGBT Russians, and have resulted in de facto state-sanctioned
beatings, torture, rape, and murder of Russian lesbians and gay men. NBC should
stop deceiving the public and tell the truth” (newnownext.com/lgbt-activists-call-johnny-weir-olympic-clown-for-covering-sochi-games-for-nbc/12/2013/).

Putin Sacks
Sports Advisor.In yet another indication that the Kremlin is
less than pleased with the supervision of the Sochi Olympics, President
Vladimir Putin has fired Aleksandr Abramov as his advisor on sport
affairs.The move follows a decision to
distance Sports Minister Vitaly Mutkov from any involvement with the 2018 World
Cup competition (rttnews.com/2232712/putin-sacks-sports-adviser-ahead-of-sochi-olympics.aspx)

Moscow Wants
Internet Companies to Help Block Illegal Podcasts from Sochi. In order to
defend the copyrights of NBC and other broaders, Moscow says it is putting in
place a system that will allow it to “rapidly block” any illegal podcasting fro
Sochi, but the communications ministry adds that it is seeking the cooperation
of Western companes like Google and Microsoft to help out (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/234559/).

Embattled Journalist
Released from Jail on Promise to Remain in Sochi.Nikolay Yarst, an ORT journalist who has been
detained since last summer ostensibly for possession of illegal drugs but in
fact because of his critical coverage of Olympic construction, has now been
released on his own recognizance upon his promise not to leave the city.Charges against him have not been dropped or
reduced (privetsochi.ru/blog/news_sochi/38639.html).

Ecologist’s Case
Postponed Until December 19.Yevgeny Vitishko, an ecologist in the Ecological Watch on the North
Caucasus, had his appeal delayed again, this time until December 19. He was
earlier sentenced to three years incarceration apparently in retaliation for
his coverage of violations of Russian law by those building a dacha for
President Vladimir Putin ( ewnc.org/node/13109).

Sochi Employer
Refuses to Pay Workers Because of Poor Work.In an unusual and understandable confession that construction in Sochi
does not meet the highest standards, one Olympic contractor is refusing to pay
a brigade of 30 workers because the work they did was sloppy (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/234537/).

Opposition Mayor
Objects to Stadium Construction Plans for 2018.In a demonstration of the problems that
Moscow would face if Russians elected mayors from opposition parties, Yevgeny
Roizman, one of their number who is now mayor of Yekterinburg, has objected to
a 380 million US dollar plan to renovate an existing stadium for the 2018 World
Cup, arguing that “it would be cheaper” to build a new arena in a different
place. He said he plans to make that proposal to the governor of his region (en.rsport.ru/football/20131203/705713950.html).

Idea of Tank
Biathlon Gains Traction.Defense
Minister Sergey Shoygu’s idea that tanks from various countries should compete
in a “tank biathlon” in 2014 is gaining supporters, Russian media outlets say,
because it will allow Moscow to demonstrate the superiority of its tanks over
those produced elsewhere to potential purchases (vrns.ru/news/2338/#.Up33fOJcUUM).

In
Preparing for Sochi, Kremlin ‘As Usual has Forgotten Ordinary People.’A Russian
commentator says that the Rusian government has “forseen it would seem
everything” when it comes to Sochhi, but “as usual, it has forgotten ordinary
people.”As a result, the situation in
the Olympic city is “unbearable” and will in the coming weeks “will become
still worse” (svpressa.ru/society/article/78312/).

Bulgarian Takes
Lead at EU in Demanding that No One Politicize Sochi Games.In an echo of a pattern reminiscent of the
Cold War, Slava Binev, a Bulgarian deputy to the European Parliament, has
called on the international community not to politicize the Olympics at
Sochi.His words were then echoed by
Vladimir Chizhov, the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the
EU (sochi2014.rsport.ru/sochi2014_news/20131203/705442448.html).

The Only Thing
that Happens When Sochi Residents Complain about Trash: The Piles Grow
Higher.Resident in the
Makarenko district of Sochi say that the only thing that has happened when they
have complained about trash in their neighborhood as they have done over the
last two months is that the piles of waste contrinue to grow higher (privetsochi.ru/blog/sitiproblem/38536.html).

Unofficial
Olympic Calendar Features Russians with USSR on Uniforms.An unofficial Olympic calendar in retro
style now circulating on the Internet features among other things Russian
competitors with the letters “USSR” prominently featured on their uniforms (chaskor.ru/article/olimpijskij_kalendar_2014__34326).

Many European
Politicians Won’t Come to Sochi.Although few European countries are considering any kind of boycott of
the Sochi Games by their athletes, few European politicians are likely to
attend lest they offend LGBT groups in their own countries, according to
Moscow’s “Nezavisimaya gazeta” (ng.ru/politics/2013-12-02/3_london.html).

Islamist Radicals
Said Trying to Recruit in Russia to Attack Sochi Games.According to both Russian officials and
independent analysts like Andrey Soldatov, Islamist groups are sending into
Russia special recruiters to enlist people to engage in attacks on the Sochi
Games (svoboda.org/content/article/25182293.html).

Moscow’s
‘Anti-Caucasian Hysteria’ Provoking North Caucasus in Advance of Sochi.A North Caucasian commentator says that
“anti-Caucasian hysteria in the federal media, shortcomings in nationality
policy, the use of force to resolve problems, and continuing and unpunished
provocatons against ordinary residents of the North Caucasus republics, ad the
absence of control over the actions of law enforcement agencies means that the
closer the Olympics are, the more difficult the situation in the Caucasus is
becoming” (ndelo.ru/politika-5/2419-tretya-kavkazskaya-vojna).

NoSochi Reiterates Opposition to
Violence.“As the Sochi Games
approach,” the organizers and supporters of the No Sochi movement in the
Circassian diaspora have released a statement reaffirming their complete
rejection and condemnation of all acts of violence or terrorism. The celebration of the Sochi Winter
Olympics coincides with the 150 year tragic memory of our annihilated
nation.Circassians are concerned today that acts of violence may be committed
therefore we disassociate ourselves from any and all radical and violent acts
directed toward anyone at the Games that may not operate in the same peaceful
and non-violent nature of our movement. We urge anyone who desires to address
the unfortunate fact that the Sochi Winter Olympics is going to be held on the
soil where the Circassian nation was annihilated, to do so by only peaceful and
non-violent means that would cause no harm or suffering to anyone” (nosochi2014.com/campaign/statement-from-no-sochi-2014.php).

Paralympic Head Calls for Russia to
Extend Barrier-Free Approach to Entire Country.Saying that Moscow had indeed made
significant progress over the last seven years in Sochi itself toward creating
a barrier-free environment, Philip Craven, president of the International
Paralympic Committee, calls for the Russian authorities to use Sochi as “a
blueprint” for what should be done everywhere in that country (en.rsport.ru/interview/20131127/703982693.html).

New Video Imagines Signs in Sochi
Pointing toward the GULAR and the Lyubyanka.A new video featuring some of the Welcome to
Sochi pictures critical of Moscow’s Olympic effort features a drawing of signs
pointing in the direction of the GULAG and the Lyubyanka prison (blogsochi.ru/content/khukhi-sochi).

Despite Upbeat
Signs, Public Services in Sochi Lag.Signs calling on workers in public facilities to smile, work quickly,
and perform their tasks according to the rules are useful, one Sochi resident
says, when one is standing in long lines caused by such workers who display
other and more typical behavior (privetsochi.ru/blog/servis-sochi/38486.html).

Russian
Weather Forecasters Drawing on International Expertise for Sochi.Roman Vilgand, the head of Russia’s
Hydro-Meteorology Service, says that Russia is drawing on the expertise of
Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Norway and the EU to ensure that its
predictions for Sochi during the games will be the most accurate possible. But
he warned that the topography and climate of Sochi make that a very difficult
task (vesti-sochi.tv/olimpiada/21392-olimpiada-pozvolit-perejti-na-novyj-uroven-meteoprognozirovanija-v-rossii).

Russian
Athletes Must Be Careful in Talking about Politics, Fetisov Says. Vyacheslav Fetisov, a two-time Russian Olympic
champion who is now a senator, says that Russias pay more attention to sports
figures because of their popularity and that consequently Russian athletes must
be careful in how they talk about public controversies like the anti-gay
propaganda law lest they exacerbate the situation (sochi2014.rsport.ru/sochi2014/20131202/705301485.html).

Moscow Must End
Anti-Caucasus ‘Epidemic’ ahead of Sports Competitions, Arab Commentator Says. A commentator on ‘Arab News” says that
“despite the fact that Russia has been a multiethnic country for centuries, an
increasing number of Russians today favor the mono-ethnic state suggested by
the slogan “Russia is for Russians.” In fact, Caucasus natives appear to be the
most-hated ethnic group, as we noted earlier. Those Russians who have targeted
people from the Caucasus do not seem affected by their legal status as
citizens, or by the fact that Chechnya and other North Caucasus regions have
remained in the Russian Federation only because Moscow waged bloody wars to
keep them under its rule. If given the chance, most of the Caucasus people
would probably be happy to leave Russia forever. As Russia prepares to host the
2018 World Cup, the world spotlight will be trained on how it deals with rising
racism. To improve its own image, if not for anything else, Russia needs to
move fast to check this rapidly growing epidemic” (arabnews.com/news/485696).

Circassian
Repatriants to Serve as Guides at Sochi Games.Because of their educations and foreign language
skills, Circassians returning to the homeland from Syria, Jordan and Turkey
will play the role of guides during the Sochi Olympics, accoding to Mufti
Akarby Kardanov, the head of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of the Adygey
Republic and Krasnodar Kray (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/234318/).

Other Muslim
Peoples Little Affected by Circassian Opposition to Sochi, Malashenko Says.Neither Muslim nationalities within the
Russian Federation nor Muslims abroad have been much affected by the opposition
of some Circassians to the Sochi Games, according to Aleksey Malashenko, a
scholar at the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies.They are “either positive” toward the games
or “indifferent.”He said that some in
Washington and Tbilisiwere promoting the Circassian position but their actions
have declined of late (http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/234318/).

Miss Australia
Proud to Be a Circassian.Felicia
Jamirza, an ethnic Circassian who was chosen as Miss Australia in May, told a
Caucasian news portal that she “always and everwhere” proudly says that she is
a Circassian and that she supports Circassian causesCircassian women have a long record of
winning such competitions, most recently in Turkey and the Soviet Union (kavpolit.com/ya-vsegda-i-vezde-govoryu-chto-ya-cherkeshenka/).

Sochi Court
Finds for Residents.In an unusual
and high-profile case – Human Rights Watch has reported on it – a Sochi court
has found in favor of residents of a building on the city’s Acacia Street that
Olympic contractors had prevented them from having access to (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/234294/).

Moscow 1980 and
Sochi 2014 More Alike than Many Think.The Games in
both Olympic cities, a Moscow Times writer says, “have been plagued
by bureaucratic headaches, calls for a boycott and numerous
scandals, including authorities "cleaning up shop" at the
expense of residents. But whereas the 1980 Moscow Olympics were
a cause for concern for Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev —
prompting him to write a letter to his future successor
Konstantin Chernenko about the "enormous amount of money"
to be spent on the Games — the Sochi Olympics seem
to be a call to bravado for President Vladimir Putin” (themoscowtimes.com/sochi2014/A-Tale-of-Two-Olympic-Cities-Moscow-1980-and-Sochi-2014.html).

Circassians
Increasingly United Within Russia and Beyond, Activist Says.In a long and detailed two-part article,
Samir Khotko documents the fact that Circassians are using the run up to the
Olympiad to overcome Soviet-imposed divisions and restore their national unity.He says that they have benefited from
increasing ties with the diaspora in Turkey, Jordan, and Syria and from the
repatriation of even the limited number of Circassians who have been able to
return.As a result, the Circassian
national movement, especially if it receives support from those three
countries, is in a better position than it has been since the 1864 genocide (adygvoice.ru/newsview.php?uid=13397).

Moscow Insists
80 Percent of Olympic Spending was for Infrastructure.Vladimir Kozhin, President Vladimir Putin’s
administrator, and Dmitry Kozak, the vice prime minister, both insist that
approximately 80 percent of Russia’s spending on Sochi has been for infrastructure
and thus will be available for use by residents and visitors for many years to
come. But exactly what is infrastructure and what isn’t has not been clearly
defined (kavpolit.com/nasha-dorogaya-olimpiada/ and kp.ru/daily/26168.4/3054768/).

Russians Fear
They May Not Get Pensions after Sochi.Many Russians are expressing concern that their government will not have
enough money to pay them their pensions because of its spending on Sochi.
Officials say their worries are misplaced but acknowledge that cutbacks and
sequesters are entirely possible because of economic difficulties (http://finam.info/news/posle-olimpiadi-2014-mogut-perestat-platit-pensii/).